Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters) ›› 2015, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (9): 1109-1116.DOI: 10.1007/s40195-015-0301-1

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Enhancement of the Pore Interconnectivity and Porosity of Calcium Phosphate Scaffolds by Acid-Etching Method

Sujeong Lee1, Soyoung Yang1, Indu Bajpai1, Inn-Kyu Kang2, Sukyoung Kim1()   

  1. 1 Materials Science and Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 712-749, South Korea
    2 Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 702-701, South Korea
  • Received:2015-03-10 Revised:2015-07-03 Online:2015-08-15 Published:2015-09-20

Abstract:

Porous hydroxyapatite (HA)-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) ceramic scaffolds were prepared using a screw-type extrusion method with polymer beads. HA and dicalcium phosphate dehydrates (DCPD) were added at various ratios to obtain different HA/TCP ratios in sintered ceramic scaffolds. To further enhance the pore interconnectivity and porosity, the developed porous ceramic scaffolds were etched with acid solutions. The maximum porosity (~85%) was observed in the Ca-P scaffold with the lowest HA (~7%) content. On the other hand, the maximum compressive strength was noted in the scaffolds with the highest HA content (~85%). X-ray diffraction showed that the extent of the β-TCP to α-TCP phase transformation increased with decreasing HA/DCPD ratio. All HCl-etched scaffolds were observed to generate micropores, which improved the interconnectivity, while biomineralization was found to be the same for both the HCl-etched and non-etched scaffolds. In particular, hydrochloric acid etching is a promising method for improving the interconnectivity and porosity of the ceramic scaffolds.

Key words: Screw-type extrusion, Biomineralization, Porous ceramic scaffolds, HCl etching, Interconnectivity